Safety concerns raised over buried WW2 fuel tanks at airport

Hayden is a young and versatile member of our team. He covers council, court and police. He also fills in on sport occasionally. He enjoys telling people’s stories and loves chasing the tough ones. He is always up for a story lead or just a chat about a certain issue.

MYSTERY surrounds how many Second World War fuel tanks remain underground at the Maryborough Airport, and what condition they are in.

The concern about the historic fuel tanks was recently noted when the Fraser Coast Regional Council began discussing the future of jet fuel at the airport.

Last month councillors voted to remove the redundant 37,500L A1 Jet Fuel Tank from the airport due to concerns of popping.

But the council is now investigating the safety of the Second World War fuel tanks buried near plane hangars. Innovation and aviation councillor Paul Truscott said the search was on to find more information about the tanks.

"There wasn't very good records and data left about the fuel facilities at the airport after the war," he said. "To my untrained eye there appears to be at least two. It does seem like a bit of a mystery."

Cr Truscott said the Fraser Coast Regional Council would liaise with the Department of Defence for more information.

But a spokesman from the DOD told the Chronicle the airport was not managed by the department so no information was available.

In the past 20 years maintenance work has previously been done on the Second World War fuel tanks, which have slowly risen from the earth.

Cr Truscott said there was no imminent danger to the public because of the unused tanks. Russ Middleton runs flight training school ProSky from the airport.

He said if the council were removing the A1 jet fuel tank it should also consider the future of the buried war tanks. "I believe they're more of a concern," he said.

"To take one out and not the other seems a bit ridiculous."

The Fraser Coast Regional Council will continue to collect data before deciding on the fuel tanks' future.